The invention relates to a thyristor in which the center of the three pn-junction of a pnpn structure is produced by means of plastic deformation.
Thyristors are used on a large scale in electronics, chiefly in power electronics. Thyristors having switching powers in the megawatt range are available today for high voltage current applications. Thyristors fired by light operate particularly reliably at high voltages because they do not require an electrical firing electrode. An infra-red luminescent diode comprising GaAs usually serves as the light source for firing. The frequency limit of these thyristors is generally approximately in the region of a few kHz.